I'm honored to be appointed Chairman of the Urology Department at Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, and the leading authority on Urology in the region. This year the department continues to assume its role in providing the urologic community in Egypt and the Arab world with an up-to-date scientific program and the annual international workshop to be held in April.

    One of the key focuses of the department this year is the development of structured clinical trials, as well as being part of international and multi-center trials worldwide.

    We have started moving our patient archives into a new and versatile electronic format which will serve both our medical services and our research purposes. Our website has received special focus this year. Applicants for positions in our residency program can now download and submit an online application to speed the approval and granting of posts. We will be launching soon an online portal for patients in Arabic and English to provide patient oriented information on urologic conditions as well as facilities for submitting patient documents for a second opinion.

   Working together, the department staff has always raised the slogan 'Nothing but the best!' aiming to improve our patient services to the utmost level. Fewer delays and shorter hospital stays will be one of our initial goals. In addition to minimally invasive surgery the department intends to devote a special team to laser applications in both oncology, prostate and stone surgery.

May Allah help us fulfill our aspirations for a prosperous year.

Dr. Mongy Abdel-Kader